1 four hanger shephard's hook or other suitable post.
1 outdoor thermometer
1 hygrometer (optional)
1 balance (preferably triple beam)
1 paper plata and plastic spoon
sugar
heat source
1000 ml measuring cup
pan
General Procedure
1. Find a suitable place for your research station. You may choose to have only one station (that has four feeders on it) since we have quite a few people participating or if you wish you may have several in order to allow more students to gather data at one time. I have five stations with four feeders per station; three trials and a control. It is not necassary however for you to have 20 bird feeders in light of the fact we are all sharing data. Please read the tips page on how to manage data gathering. An appropriate location will take into consideration natural spaces, other sources of nectar such as flowers, water sources, and a good location for students to be able to sit and observe all feeders.
2. Mix 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% concentrations of sugar. It is extremely important that the solutions all be prepared the same way or else our data will not be valid. Preparing the solutions is a lab within itself that integrates math, measurement and physical science. It can be adapted for most grade levels. Click here for a sample copy of a lab that you may use that includes the correct way to mix the solutions. Directions
3. Fill each feeder with a different concentration of solution and hang them on your post/s. It may take several days to a even a week for birds to find your feeders. You should check periodically to determine if you have any birds. They are most active early mornings and late evenings.
4. Choose the days and times you wish to gather data. To gather data students will simply record the date, start and end time, temperature, humidity, and light conditions then watch the feeders for a specified period of time recording the number of times the birds visit each feeder and if they are male (bright red throats) or female (no red throat). You will not be able to distinguish whether or not the birds are the same birds or different birds. We are only concerned about the actual number of times each solution is visited. We will count the number of times the bill is dipped into the feeder. It really would be quite difficult to factor in the length of time the bird spends drinking though it will at times be obvious that an individual bird will spend much longer time feeding at on spot than another. Please record this under Other Observations on the data recording form.
5. Keep all hard copies of your data tables in a binder. Add your data to this website on the Shared Data page. I will add a template so please type in your data and save it under your schools name or citizen scientist name and the date.
6. Gather data periodically until the birds migrate (generally October), analyze data and report results. My high school students will do this in the form of a scientific paper.
Experimental Procedure
Materials (For one station)
- 4 hummingbird feeders
- 1 four hanger shephard's hook or other suitable post.
- 1 outdoor thermometer
- 1 hygrometer (optional)
- 1 balance (preferably triple beam)
- 1 paper plata and plastic spoon
- sugar
- heat source
- 1000 ml measuring cup
- pan
General Procedure1. Find a suitable place for your research station. You may choose to have only one station (that has four feeders on it) since we have quite a few people participating or if you wish you may have several in order to allow more students to gather data at one time. I have five stations with four feeders per station; three trials and a control. It is not necassary however for you to have 20 bird feeders in light of the fact we are all sharing data. Please read the tips page on how to manage data gathering. An appropriate location will take into consideration natural spaces, other sources of nectar such as flowers, water sources, and a good location for students to be able to sit and observe all feeders.
2. Mix 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% concentrations of sugar. It is extremely important that the solutions all be prepared the same way or else our data will not be valid. Preparing the solutions is a lab within itself that integrates math, measurement and physical science. It can be adapted for most grade levels. Click here for a sample copy of a lab that you may use that includes the correct way to mix the solutions. Directions
3. Fill each feeder with a different concentration of solution and hang them on your post/s. It may take several days to a even a week for birds to find your feeders. You should check periodically to determine if you have any birds. They are most active early mornings and late evenings.
4. Choose the days and times you wish to gather data. To gather data students will simply record the date, start and end time, temperature, humidity, and light conditions then watch the feeders for a specified period of time recording the number of times the birds visit each feeder and if they are male (bright red throats) or female (no red throat). You will not be able to distinguish whether or not the birds are the same birds or different birds. We are only concerned about the actual number of times each solution is visited. We will count the number of times the bill is dipped into the feeder. It really would be quite difficult to factor in the length of time the bird spends drinking though it will at times be obvious that an individual bird will spend much longer time feeding at on spot than another. Please record this under Other Observations on the data recording form.5. Keep all hard copies of your data tables in a binder. Add your data to this website on the Shared Data page. I will add a template so please type in your data and save it under your schools name or citizen scientist name and the date.
6. Gather data periodically until the birds migrate (generally October), analyze data and report results. My high school students will do this in the form of a scientific paper.